Talking to hiring managers at Python houses here in Seattle I’ve noticed something interesting.
As you might expect, they want to hire developers fluent in test-driven development. And they’re looking for staff that know how to thrive on an Agile team. Understanding continuous integration and deployment workflow is big on their lists, too. These are all vital. But they aren’t what peaked my interest.
What I found intriguing is their interest in developers with an ability to dive deep into a topic. They’re looking for the ability to develop domain expertise. They aren’t looking for generalists.
This is why I find teaching a Python bootcamp so fantastic.
Python is well-known for being widely applicable. If you have an abiding interest in some topic, there’s a great chance that Python has a library for you.
But more than that, Python makes it easy to get things done.
As a result it’s used by folks who have a job to do. These folks have deep knowledge in their field, and so Python gains sophisticated open-souce libraries written by domain experts. You can focus on a topic and go way down into it using Python.
Are you interested in Natural Langage processing?
Or would bioinformatics be your cup of tea?
And the list goes on and on and on…
So why, with all these riches, am I teaching a course focused on web programming? I’ve got a long and a short answer.
The short answer is: it is my domain.
The long answer is that in Python, web programming provides a window into the fascinating worlds explored by these packages. If you understand web programming alongside another disciplines, then you have the ability to share what you create with the world.
I teach web programming from the ground up. You’ll learn how things work from sockets up to full-stack frameworks. When you combine that knowledge with your own personal domain expertise across a couple of projects, you’ll develop the ability to build web applications that effectively showcase both.
Because your own domain expertise and the web application will be expressed in Python, the linkages can be as direct as you like. And because Python provides tools that function at all levels of web programming, you can tailor your app to do exactly what you want. No more wedging bits into ill-fitting frameworks. Build systems that fit your data, your way.
And along the way, you’ll gain the professional skills and fluencies in TDD, Agile, CI, deployment, and more that make you a great candidate for one of the many fascinating Python jobs out there.
